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TEA Parties, Village Idiots, Demo-Gogues and More

Wall Street tea part

From The Patriot Post Wed Chronicle - Vol. 09 No. 16

THE FOUNDATION

"Newspapers ... serve as chimnies to carry off noxious vapors and smoke." --Thomas Jefferson

DEZINFORMATSIA

The media doth protest too much: "What's disturbing about some of these [tea party] protests and some of the people at these protests is this edge of anger at the government. There is ... a real hostility that is not just politics as usual among some of these people." --CNN's Jeffrey Toobin ++ "[T]his is a party for Obama bashers. I have to say that this is not entirely representative of everybody in America.... I think you get the general tenor of this. It's anti-government, anti-CNN, since this is highly promoted by the right-wing conservative network, Fox." --CNN's Susan Roesgen ++ "Are these protesters really out of step with the majority of Americans? We just saw ... that 62 percent of the people here approve of the president's handling of the economy, and that Americans rate taxes, incredibly at, the very bottom of the most important economic issues right now." --CNN's Christiane Amanpour ++ "You have to remember that at almost any given time any cockamamie proposition in America will have at least 25 percent of those polled supporting it. It was a good stunt. ... We pay relatively small taxes. ...[W]hat you ostensibly get for it is a civilized kind of social compact where you don't have massive civil eruptions. That is what taxes are for." --NPR's Nina Totenberg on the tea parties

This week's "Leftmedia Buster" Award: "A lot of news outlets mocked these protesters.... But, if a media outlet wants to expose its bias, they can mock tea parties, if they like. ... I'm not going to mention names of people on networks that made sexual jokes, childish sexual jokes, about tens of thousands of Americans who went out and wanted to get involved in their government. I mean, it was really middle school jokes being made. I didn't hear those jokes being made when people on the left protested over the past eight years." --MSNBC's Joe Scarborough

Repeating the BIG Lie: "On the violence issue, 6,500 people were killed in drug violence in 2008 alone. Ninety-five percent of the guns used were out of the United States. What is the U.S. going to do to stop the guns from getting there?" --ABC's Diane Sawyer to DHS secretary Janet Napolitano, who replied that she wouldn't "quibble about numbers" since "that's not the point."

Newspulper Headlines:

Couldn't They Find One That Was Still Afloat?: "Coast Guard Opens Hearing on Sunk Fishing Boat" --Associated Press

Look Out Below!: "Workers Falling Through the Jobs Net" --Detroit News

Everything Seemingly Is Spinning Out of Control: "Thieving Dwarves Cause Supernovae" --BBC Web site

Bottom Stories of the Day: "Small Cars Get Poor Marks in Collision Tests" --Associated Press

(Thanks to The Wall Street Journal's James Taranto)

VILLAGE IDIOTS

Spewing hate: "It's not about bashing Democrats, it's not about taxes, they have no idea what the Boston tea party was about, they don't know their history at all. This is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up. That is nothing but a bunch of teabagging rednecks. ...[T]he limbic brain inside a right-winger or Republican or conservative or your average white power activist, the limbic brain is much larger in their head space than in a reasonable person, and it's pushing against the frontal lobe. So their synapses are misfiring." --actress Janeane Garofalo on last week's Tea Parties

Speak for yourself: "Why are they out there whining with this Tea Party thing? Just a bunch of wimpy, whiney, weasels who don't love their country..." --CNN contributing Clintonista Paul Begala

Too many knocks upside the head: "I don't know whether it is better to have freedom or to have no freedom. With too much freedom ... it can get very chaotic, could end up like in Hong Kong or like in Taiwan... I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled." --actor Jackie Chan, who made millions of dollars filming movies in a free country

The BIG Lie: "You in United States, you have a lot of traffic of drugs, you have a lot of distribution of drugs, you have a lot of corruption as well. ... But most of the weapons, almost 16,000 are assault weapons and 90 percent of those were sold in United States." --Mexico's president Felipe Calderon

INSIGHT

"I cannot find any authority in the Constitution for public charity." --President Franklin Pierce (1804-1869)

"I feel obliged to withhold my approval of the plan to indulge in benevolent and charitable sentiment through the appropriation of public funds. I find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution." --President Grover Cleveland (1837-1908)

"I don't like the income tax. Every time we talk about these taxes we get around to the idea of 'from each according to his capacity and to each according to his needs.' That's socialism. It's written into the Communist Manifesto. Maybe we ought to see that every person who gets a tax return receives a copy of the Communist Manifesto with it so he can see what's happening to him." --accountant and Commissioner of Internal Revenue T. Coleman Andrews (1899-1983)

UPRIGHT

"The country has gotten into a painful fiscal predicament because both parties have let us believe we can have more and more goodies from Washington at no additional cost. The recent explosion of federal spending has succeeded in one way: It has exposed that assumption for the fiction it was. Like Bernie Madoff's investors, we now face the bleak truth that the comfortable future we expected is gone. Everything the federal government is doing will be forcibly extracted from our future earnings." --columnist Steve Chapman

"The GOP path to reclaiming power lies with candidates who can make a credible case that they will support and defend fiscal responsibility. That means acting on fiscal-conservative principles now, not paying lip service later." --columnist Michelle Malkin

"Our Constitution represents a compact between the states and the federal government. As with any compact, one party does not have a monopoly over its interpretation, nor can one party change it without the consent of the other. Additionally, no one has a moral obligation to obey unconstitutional laws. That's not to say there is not a compelling case for obedience of unconstitutional laws. That compelling case is the brute force of the federal government to coerce obedience, possibly going as far as using its military might to lay waste to a disobedient state and its peoples." --economist Walter E. Williams

Read the rest here: TEA Parties, Village Idiots, Demo-Gogues and More

Read more great articles at The Patriot Post.US

What Did It Say?

What did it say?

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls Rush Limbaugh and tells him, "Rush, I had a wonderful dream last night. I could see America, the whole country, and on each house I saw a banner."

"What did it say on the banners?" Rush asks.

Mahmoud replies, "UNITED STATES OF IRAN."

Rush says, "You know, Mahmoud, I am really happy you called, because believe it or not, last night I had a similar dream. I could see all of Tehran, and it was more beautiful than ever, and on each house flew an enormous banner."

"What did it say on the banners?" Mahmoud asks.

Rush replies, "I don't know. I can't read Hebrew."

What pirates can expect

And now for cartoons

More Cartoon Humor at Patriot Humor
Read more great articles at The Patriot Post.US

Ready For Any of The Obama Regime Decrees!

We can Flush BHO's Failed Socialistic ideas down with Crapper's Invention.

Right-Wing Extremists, a Dying Republic + More

From The Patriot Post Friday Digest - Vol. 09 No. 15

THE FOUNDATION

"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it NOW deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." --Thomas Paine

PATRIOT PERSPECTIVE

Right-Wing Extremists

By Mark Alexander

My fellow Patriot "right-wing extremists" (or as Barack Obama prefers to describe you, those "bitterly clinging to guns or religion"), it is no small irony that, in the same week the central government demands payment of any income tax they hadn't already withheld (read: "pilfered") from our paychecks for redistribution, we observe Patriots Day.

April 19th marks the 234th anniversary of the early morning ride of Paul Revere and William Dawes to Concord, Massachusetts, in order to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that British troops were coming to arrest them and seize their weapons. Revere was captured but Dawes and Samuel Prescott, who had joined them along the way, escaped and continued toward Concord. Dawes later fell from his horse, but Prescott, who knew the area well enough to navigate at night, made it to Concord in time to warn the Sons of Liberty.

Protests had been taking place since 1765 over increased taxation and other indignities, resulting most notably in the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773, when colonists boarded three ships in Boston Harbor and threw English tea overboard. The grievances against the imperial authorities were many, but they found their voice in one familiar phrase: "No taxation without representation."

In the early dawn of April 19th, Captain John Parker, commander of the militiamen at Lexington, ordered, "Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they want a war let it begin here." And it did -- American Minutemen fired the "shot heard round the world," as immortalized by Ralph Waldo Emerson, confronting the British on Lexington Green and at Concord's Old North Bridge.

A year later, American Patriots formalized their grievances in the Declaration of Independence, and some 3 percent of the colonists took up arms to battle the well equipped British regulars for almost eight years, until victory was won.

In 1787, our Patriot founders codified a Constitution of Government for their hard-won republic. For almost 150 years, our Constitution stood true to its original intent, just as our Founders, and more important, "the people," had willed it. But constitutional rule of law suffered repeated humiliation during the Great Depression, as FDR used the economic crisis as cover to implement "change," ostensibly at the behest of "hope."

The result was a "Living Constitution" for a Dying Republic.

In the 1930s, FDR launched myriad socialist programs and redefined the role of the central government. He proposed to pay for his folly through excess taxation, proclaiming, "Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle." (Of course, that wasn't an "American principle," but a paraphrase of Karl Marx's Communist maxim, "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.")

More recently, under cover of yet another economic crisis, Barack Obama and his Leftist cadres in Congress have authorized trillions of dollars of government spending programs. Many economists believe the generational tax burden for these programs will, by design, prove the demise of free enterprise in America. As Obama's chief water boy, Rahm Emanuel, announced, "Rule 1 of the Obama administration: Never allow a crisis to go to waste. They are opportunities to do big things."

Indeed, Obama and company accomplished this subterfuge in their first 60 days, and the magnitude of their ruse is staggering -- but the inevitable consequences have not gone completely unnoticed.

As it was in the years before the first American Revolution, this week a small but clearly perceptible grassroots movement manifested in the form of more than 750 "Tea Parties" across the nation attracting "hundreds of thousands" of American citizens, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Some other news organizations, with a little prompting from the Department of Homeland Security, preferred to call those citizens "radicals."

A DHS document, "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," published by the Office of Intelligence and Analysis includes a footnote which defines "rightwing extremism in the United States" to include groups which question federal authority and support states' rights. It also notes that DHS "will be working with its state and local partners over the next several months" to collect information on these radicals, with "a particular emphasis" on sources of "rightwing extremist radicalization."

As my colleague Michelle Malkin observed, "What and who exactly are President Obama's homeland security officials afraid of these days? If you are a member of an active conservative group that opposes abortion, favors strict immigration enforcement, lobbies to protect Second Amendment rights, protests big government, advocates federalism or represents veterans who believe in any of the above, the answer is: You."

DHS czar Janet Napolitano expressed her concerns about "trends of violent radicalization in the United States," but insists, "We are on the lookout for criminal and terrorist activity but we do not -- nor will we ever -- monitor ideology or political beliefs. We take seriously our responsibility to protect the civil rights and liberties of the American people, including subjecting our activities to rigorous oversight from numerous internal and external sources."

The report also took a cheap jab at veterans and active duty military personnel, prompting American Legion national commander David Rehbein to respond: "Your report states that 'Rightwing extremists were concerned during the 1990s with the perception that illegal immigrants were taking away American jobs through their willingness to work at significantly lower wages. Secretary Napolitano, this is more than a perception to those who have lost their job. Would you categorize union members as 'Right Wing extremists'? I think it is important for all of us to remember that Americans are not the enemy. The terrorists are."

Perhaps DHS should add a threat warning level colored red, white and blue.

Napolitano could not explain why the DHS "radicalization" report was released just ahead of all the Tea Parties -- a mere coincidence, I'm sure.

Of course, "radical" is a term that was correctly associated with anarchists of the 1960s and '70s -- paradoxically, those who occupy key national leadership positions today. But anarchy is defined as "lawlessness," which raises an important question: Who better fits that description -- conservatives or liberals?

Let's review: Conservatives have always endeavored to conserve our constitutional republic while liberals have sought to "liberate" America from constitutional rule of law for decades, preferring instead to make all the rules themselves.

Answer: Obama, et al., are the "radicals."

As for the Tea Parties this week, I wouldn't describe the level of grassroots discontent as a "powder keg." At least not yet.

The Tea Party of 1773 was a tactical event, but the rallying cry of "No taxation without representation" provided a unified strategic front.

As more Patriots across the nation take a lesson from our Founders, and make the leap from tactical skirmishes to a unified strategic front, protests will become far more focused and effective.

If I might make a humble suggestion, insisting on the restoration of constitutional rule of law is a worthy unified strategic objective.

While most of my colleagues at the nation's premier think tank, The Heritage Foundation, have yet to be profiled by DHS as anarchists, their organization has done precisely what I believe every Patriot should do.

Though Heritage will remain on the front lines of the war of ideas, producing some of the best policy analysis available anywhere, they are renewing their strategic emphasis on "First Principles."

Their revised statement of purpose notes: "We face an education system that upholds mediocrity in the name of relativism; an ever-expanding and centralized government, unmoored from constitutional limits; judges openly making laws and shaping society based on pop-philosophy rather than serious jurisprudence; and growing confusion over America's legitimate role in the world, made all the more apparent by the fundamental threat posed by radical Islamists. At the root of all these problems is a pervasive doubt about the core principles that define America and ought to inform our politics and policy."

Consequently, Heritage is focusing its resources to "recall the nation to its first principles, reinvigorate American constitutionalism, and revive the sturdy virtues required for self-government."

The statement concludes, "In short, our vision, building on the great successes of the modern conservative movement, must now be to save America by reclaiming its truths and its promises and conserving its first principles for ourselves and our posterity."

So there it is: a template for the strategic commitment every Patriot and every grassroots movement ought to adopt.

With a strategic cause of "restoring constitutional primacy and integrity," we could then stage tea parties to ask, "What is the constitutional authority for all the government programs now being funded by Congress?" And given that there is no constitutional authority for the redistribution of our wages, we could then adopt a rallying cry of, perhaps, "No taxation without constitutional authority."

How this plays out in the political arena depends largely on whether we get sucked into "constituency politics" built around tactical issues. Far better to find and support national leaders who can both articulate and advocate for constitutional rule of law, the most pressing issue of our time.

Should the Republican Party ever wish to regain its majorities, it might start by reading Ronald Reagan's speech, "A Time for Choosing," and then adopt and abide by his 1984 Republican Platform, which yielded a historic victory.

Read the rest of Right-Wing Extremists... at PA Pundits - International

Palin 'Media Malpractice' Documentarian Thrown Off USC Campus

John Ziegler arrest at Couric award ceremony for Palin interview

John went to USC to witness and ask questions about Katie Couric getting the Walter Cronkite journalism award for her interview of Sarah Palin. He intended to also give away copies of his film but was literally prevented from doing so. He did not go there hoping for or expecting any sort of confrontation, especially with law enforcement. He was simply shocked and horrified by what happened there, as should every freedom loving American. He did absolutely nothing wrong and was handcuffed, detained and literally abused by law enforcement at the event. The video speaks for itself, John will have plenty to say about this very disturbing episode.

This video was shot and edited by Orange County Films. John Ziegler was not involved the the production or editing of this video in any way.

Video posted by rghrdrgirl

Another View of the JCJC

By Robert Schwartz, Esq., Executive Director
Juvenile Law Center
www.jlc.org

The April 2, 2009 edition of Democracy Rising PA News raises important points about the Luzerne County scandal, but it is off the mark in its characterization of the Juvenile Court Judges' Commission.

When we at Juvenile Law Center which has pursued the Luzerne County case for years suspected that large numbers of youth in the County were waiving their right to counsel, it was to JCJC that we turned for data. JCJC collects enormous amounts of data from counties, and annually publishes a report that is a mix of county-specific and aggregate statewide data. Juvenile Law Center asked for waiver-of-counsel data from Luzerne, and JCJC unflinchingly provided it, taking the bold step of providing an affidavit that supported Juvenile Law Center's April, 2008 application to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. This was at a time when few others were willing to take risks in the case. (Others who were willing to step forward, as Democracy Rising PA notes, were the Department of Public Welfare and the Attorney General's Office, both of which filed amicus briefs in support of Juvenile Law Center's April, 2008 application.)

Democracy Rising PA implies that JCJC had the power to stop what was happening in Luzerne. Unfortunately, JCJC has a great deal of influence, but lacks the power that many people think it has. JCJC is in the executive branch. While the state Supreme Court nominates Commission members, it is the Governor who appoints them. Commission staff are executive branch employees.

This is the 50th anniversary of JCJC's creation as an advisory body that sets standards, collects and publishes data and administers a small grant-in-aid program. JCJC has a tiny staff, it is severely underfunded, but it has enormous influence because of its knowledge, integrity and skills. JCJC clearly should have more capacity and power to analyze and publish more data like those that helped Juvenile Law Center uncover the Luzerne County scandal. For that it will need more funding, rather than the cut that the Governor's Office has proposed.

When the D.C.-based Center for Children's Law and Policy published, in 2005, "Keystones for Reform," it singled out JCJC as one of the reasons that Pennsylvania has a national reputation for juvenile justice excellence. For years, JCJC has promoted good policies for Pennsylvania's youth. Following years of litigation in the early 1980's, JCJC became Juvenile Law Center's partner in reform of juvenile detention practices. It has fought to keep Pennsylvania as a state that doesn't lock up status offenders (truants or runaways). JCJC persuaded the General Assembly in 1995 to avoid draconian laws that would treat too many youth as adult criminals. Commission staff has diplomatically educated local judges to prevent and end futile and harmful "scared straight" programs.

Also in 2005, on the occasion of Juvenile Law Center's 30th anniversary celebration, we honored JCJC Executive Director Jim Anderson as the most effective Pennsylvania juvenile justice leader of the prior 30 years. In my remarks, I observed:

When we at Juvenile Law Center confront an intractable problem in one of the state's 67 counties, it is to Jim Anderson that we usually turn. It is because of Jim that we can avoid litigation, or skip going to the press. He solves problems. And he does that in a remarkably effective way, with unerring instincts, and unmatched decency.

There is no obligation for county judges to heed JCJC, and in this latest scandal, the Luzerne County judges were outside its orbit. There are ways to give JCJC more authority, but that would entail additional staff and technological capacity. JCJC, as I understand it, would welcome the resources to be able to collect, analyze and publish real-time data that would expose future Luzerne Counties. We who have long worked with the Commission would welcome Democracy Rising PA's help in getting JCJC more power, more capacity and more tools.

Misdirected Anger

Clearly we owe the JCJC and Executive Director James Anderson an apology, which we gladly extend.

But that still begs the question of responsibility for three branches of government failing to prevent what happened to more than 5,000 children.

Gov. Ed Rendell has proposed cutting the JCJC's budget by $125,000 next year after cutting $163,000 this year. These numbers are roughly equivalent to the salary and benefits being paid to former state Rep. Dan Surra and PR guru Ken Snyder, including the overhead of the agency with whom Snyder subcontracts.

Questions:

• Will Rendell champion the JCJC like he champions Surra and Snyder?
• Why does the JCJC have too little when lawmakers have far too much? Will lawmakers give up a tiny portion of their $200 million surplus for the JCJC?
• Will the Supreme Court publicly support the JCJC's budgetary needs?

Remember: Only you can keep democracy rising!
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Obama Attorney Threatens Distinguished Veteran on Obama Birth Certificate Issue: Why?

Exclusive by Margaret Calhoun Hemenway

(Editor's note: Barack Obama's lawyer, Robert F. Bauer, is threatening a D.C. attorney with "sanctions," because the attorney is simply requesting that Obama show proof of his birth. No legalizing on our part. No exaggeration. No political manipulation. Just the facts in black and white. We have the shocking letter dated April 3 . The president of the United States is threatening sanctions - and the word "sanctions" is used in the threat -- against attorney John Hemenway. Read on.)

After the flippant dismissal by U.S. Circuit Court Judge James Robertson of the lawsuit to attempt to determine whether Barack Obama is constitutionally eligible to serve as President, D.C. attorney John Hemenway received a letter from a lawyer representing Barack Obama and Joe Biden, his Vice President. (Hemenway had joined the suit launched by Hillary Clinton's ally, Philip Berg, the former Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania and attorney Lawrence Joyce of Arizona, in an attempt to force President Obama to disclose his birth records, currently being protected against public scrutiny by the Obama legal team at a reported cost of as much as one million dollars.) The entire letter , written by Obama attorney Robert F. Bauer, states the following (and we note that there is no reference in this letter to an existing valid Birth Certificate for Barack Obama, as opposed to a Certificate of Live Birth, and there is no claim that a valid Birth certificate exists which can be shown to the American people, an act that immediately would shut down this query):

"I represent President Barack Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden. I write to request that, in light of the District Court's March 24, 2009 Rule 11 order in Hollister v. Soetoro, No. 08-2254, you withdraw the appeal filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, No. 09-5080. For the reasons stated in Judge Robertson's order, the suit is frivolous and should not be pursued.

Should you decline to withdraw this frivolous appeal, please be informed that we intend to pursue sanctions, including costs, expenses, and attorney's fees, pursuant to federal Rule Appellate Procedure 38 and D.C. Circuit Rule 38."

Mr. Hemenway's response to the letter was a promise to "write and protest and attack those against the demand that Obama show proof of his birth, and I will continue to do anything I can think of doing that might perhaps deter or injure those who are opposed to "transparency" and "openness" and honesty in governmental operations-all those good and vague promises that Obama threw out in speeches read from his teleprompter."

Mr. Hemenway added, "The lawyer for Obama, Robert Bauer, has abused his privileges as an attorney, because I can regard his premature (and totally inaccurate) threats to seek some sanction against me as a threat to keep me from performing my duty to my client. It won't work and he will soon see that it has not worked to intimidate me." In his opinion, "many judges and other officials are simply crassly violating their oaths of office. Since I had been in the Department of State and served in Moscow for two years, I am mindful of an expression used by the Russians: "Nada dakazat' kulak!" (You must show them your fist!)"

Hemenway also pledged:

"...to appeal the slap taken at me (the so-called "reprimand") by Judge James Robertson who tried unsuccessfully to label our efforts as "frivolous" but who did not have the guts to sanction me under Rule 11. (This would have given me-and others engaged in this important battle -standing in the Court of Appeals.) I will do my duty to Colonel Hollister, who technically is a client, even though I never agreed initially to follow the case in the Court of Appeals. The military, as Colonel Hollister's interest demonstrates, is quite concerned with the basic issue of ‘legal' and ‘illegal' orders originating from a ‘legitimate' or ‘illegitimate' commander-in-chief. Recall that Judge Robertson never did admit attorneys Berg or Joyce to practice in his court, never had a hearing and never examined evidence because he didn't seek any. The Judge gave the impression that his decision was predicated solely on ‘blogging and twittering'."

For the many others who have contacted him and expressed interest in this cause, Hemenway invoked Churchill's admonition: "If a matter of principle is involved in a course of action, then never give up-never - never - never." The most important part of that quote is the "matter of principle." It was not just a display of the stubborn nature of Churchill. Following that advice, we can see that here, we have a grave matter of principle.

If Obama can break such a basic, fundamental rule of the Constitution, then what is to keep him from ignoring or suspending other basic rights, such as the Writ of Habeas Corpus?

Last, Hemenway points out: "Mr. Bauer claims his father was an attorney in Vienna who opposed the union with Germany (the so-called "Anschluss") and promoted anti-Nazi political movements while he was in Austria. He says his father left Austria in 1940. Very few people left greater Germany after 1939, when the war started. In any event, if Bauer's background includes such a family history of opposition to anti-rule-of-law monsters, how does he explain his support for this Chicago-styled conspiracy to violate a basic requirement of the United States Constitution?"

FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Margaret Calhoun Hemenway is a retired federal employee, having served fifteen years in the U.S. Congress and five years as a White House appointee at DoD and NASA.

Tax Time, Obama's Spendthrift Regime and More

From The Patriot Post Chronicle - Vol. 09 No. 15

THE FOUNDATION

"[I]n this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." --Benjamin Franklin

INSIGHT

"When more of the people's sustenance is exacted through the form of taxation than is necessary to meet the just obligations of government, such exaction becomes ruthless extortion and a violation of the fundamental principles of a free government." --President Grover Cleveland (1837-1908)

"Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt." --President Herbert Hoover (1874-1964)

"To tax the community for the advantage of a class is not protection: it is plunder." --British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)

"The difference between death and taxes is death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets." --American humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935)

THE GIPPER

"People are tired of wasteful government programs and welfare chiselers, and they're angry about the constant spiral of taxes and government regulations, arrogant bureaucrats, and public officials who think all of mankind's problems can be solved by throwing the taxpayers' dollars at them." ++ "Government can't tax things like businesses or corporations, it can only tax people. When it says it's going to 'make business pay,' it is really saying it is going to make business help it collect taxes." ++

"We don't have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much." ++ "Our tax policy is engineered by people who view tax as a means of achieving changes in our social structure." ++ "Raising taxes will slow economic growth, reduce production, and destroy future jobs, making it more difficult for those without jobs to find them and more likely that those who now have jobs could lose them." ++ "My friends, history is clear: Lower tax rates mean greater freedom, and whenever we lower the tax rates, our entire nation is better off." --Ronald Reagan (1911-2004)

UPRIGHT

"I say let's have Election Day on tax day. Let's get what we're paying for. Sign the check -- for the full amount -- and write in your preferred candidates on the back of the same check. Abracadabra ... smaller government, here we come." --columnist Jonah Goldberg

"Rampant redistribution of wealth by government is now the norm. So is this: It inflames government's natural rapaciousness and subverts the rule of law." --columnist George Will

"Inflation also means that all the talk about how higher taxes will be confined to 'the rich' is nonsense. Inflation is a hidden tax that takes away the value of money held by everyone at every income level." --economist Thomas Sowell

"[W]e need to return to a taxation system similar to the one established by our Founding Fathers. They did not penalize productivity through taxes the way we do today. They had no Internal Revenue Service. They believed in minimal taxation." --columnist Chuck Norris

"Today American taxpayers in more than 300 locations in all 50 states will hold rallies -- dubbed 'tea parties' -- to protest higher taxes and out-of-control government spending. There is no political party behind these rallies, no grand right-wing conspiracy, not even a 501(c) group like MoveOn.org. So who's behind the Tax Day tea parties? Ordinary folks who are using the power of the Internet to organize." --author Glenn Harlan Reynolds

"[I]s there any limit to this administration's intentions to interfere and perhaps control large swaths of our economy? ... That's the real message of the homegrown Tea Party revolt against bailout nation and the higher taxes, deficits, and debt being used to finance it. Folks are trying to tell Washington on Tax Day, April 15, that enough is enough. They can't take it anymore." --economist Larry Kudlow

"The cry at these tea parties should be 'not a penny more' until governments get their houses in order, just as we must do. Most people have been forced to reduce spending during the recession, but not the federal government, and likely not the government in your home state." --columnist Cal Thomas

"President Obama's own budget numbers show that Social Security this year will take in $654 billion in payroll taxes and dole out $662 billion in benefits and expenses -- a negative cash flow of $8 billion. Uh oh." --columnist Stephen Moore

EDITORIAL EXEGESIS

"Today is tax day, and across America, taxpayers are holding tea parties to protest out-of-control government spending. Their concern is no tempest in a teapot. The tax burden on American families is growing increasingly heavy. According to the Tax Foundation, tax-freedom day came on April 13 this year. That day marks the point of the year when taxpayers have earned enough money to pay off their federal, state and local taxes. It takes Americans about 3 1/2 months of labor to cover their tax obligation. That time will increase as government continues to grow. President Obama's current budget proposal admits to plans to raise taxes by almost $1 trillion over the next 10 years. Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) estimates that hundreds of thousands will turn out to protest this tax servitude. ... Today's tea parties are carrying on a noble American tradition of protesting unfair taxation. Mike Allen, co-author of 'A Patriot's History of the United States,' explained to us: 'America was born out of hatred of a strong centralized government. The Boston Tea Party (and a half dozen other concurrent tea parties from New York City to Charleston) protested government subsidies to create monopoly status for a corporation, the East India Company. From that point onward, tax protests have peppered American history.' The first tea party to protest taxes occurred on Dec. 16, 1773, when patriots called the Sons of Liberty dressed as Mohawk Indians, boarded ships in Boston Harbor and threw 342 chests of tea overboard. Other colonials followed the lead of Sam Adams and his fellow Bostonians by tossing tea into the sea. Today's tea-party movement is building steam because taxpayers are steamed. As ATR's anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist explained ... 'These are real people with real lives taking the time and effort to do this in reaction not to a tax increase yesterday, but in reaction to too much spending that will lead to tax increases and inflation years from now.' These modern Mohawks are angry because they fear the future is being poured down the drain. This kind of activism is our cup of tea." --The Washington Times

DEZINFORMATSIA

Read the rest here: Tax Time, Obama's Spendthrift Regime and More

Shaun The Sheep - Save The Tree - S02E20

more about "Shaun The Sheep - Save The Tree - S02E20", posted with vodpod

How Obama Finally Got Cheering Soldiers

Andrew Bolt

How did Barack Obama get troops to welcome him in Iraq with a warmth soldiers have denied him before?

One sergeant gives credit to Obama's very choosy advance party.

This is only a claim by an anonymous source, but it may also explain the marked racial profile of the soldiers lined up behind Obama as a happy-TV backdrop.

Stopping by Baghdad - A Carefully Pre-Planned Visit!

Meanwhile, despite his largely rhapsodic coverage:

Andrew Bolt is a journalist and columnist writing for The Herald Sun in Melbourne Victoria Australia.

Read more excellent articles from Andrew Bolt’s Blog

Letter To My Bank

Letter to my bank Dear Sirs, One of my checks was returned marked "insufficient funds". In view of current developments in the banking industry, does that refer to me or to you? Put up your dukes Submitted Credit where credit is due Submitted And now for a cartoon Please click on above images for a larger view in a new window.

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Resurrection Observance - 2009 -- Real Hope

Easter Special Edition - Vol. 09 No. 14

THE FOUNDATION

"The Hand of providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations. ... The blessed Religion revealed in the word of God will remain an eternal and awful monument to prove that the best Institution may be abused by human depravity. ... It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favors." --George Washington

PATRIOT PERSPECTIVE

Resurrection Observance, 2009 -- Real Hope

By Mark Alexander

In just a few short days, spring had sprung in the mountains of East Tennessee. Most of the emerging flora, however, was then covered by a very late snowfall. "This," my children teasingly speculated, "must be global warming."

We live in an area of our great country where the seasons are well defined. Spring is my favorite. As March closes, we are treated to the miraculous emergence of life from the bleak winter cold. Each year at this time, I marvel at God's expression of splendid colors covering branches and grounds where the resurrection of life was awaiting its cue.

I am humbled to recount three additional examples of "splendid colors" that I chanced upon in recent days, each with a common but indissoluble bond between them.

Read the rest here: Resurrection Observance - 2009 -- Real Hope

Pay-to-Play

By Tim Potts, Co-founder Democracy Rising PA

It sounds like another form of gambling getting ready to take root in PA. But for many years it hasn't been much of a gamble for those who bankroll political campaigns, and its roots are firmly established.

Pay-to-play refers to the coincidence of campaign contributors receiving no-bid contracts from the government after their candidates win. If such arrangements were in writing, they would be illegal. But they exist in the land of Wink and Nod with no paper trail for prosecutors to assemble as evidence. Click here for Wikipedia's description of pay-to-play.

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported on a specific instance of what it called the "State Lawsuit Racket" involving Gov. Ed Rendell and a law firm in Houston, TX. Click here for Wednesday's WSJ story and here for The Philadelphia Inquirer's follow-up today.
F. Kenneth Bailey, a principal in the firm of Bailey, Perrin & Bailey, made repeated donations to Rendell when he was seeking re-election in 2006. During the eight-month period from February through October 2006, the donations totaled $91,100. During the same period, Rendell, with the concurrence of Attorney General Tom Corbett, negotiated a no-bid contract with Bailey to prosecute a lawsuit by the state against a pharmaceutical manufacturer.

The story presents another one of those timelines that strain the definition of coincidence. Here it is, as presented in the WJS story (all dates are 2006):

• February 23: Bailey contributed airplane travel valued at $9,200 to Rendell's re-election campaign.
• March 3: Bailey contributed $50,000 to the Rendell campaign.
• May 12: Rendell's office asked Corbett's office, which normally would represent the Commonwealth in such a lawsuit, to allow the governor's office to handle the case.
• May 24: Corbett's office granted Rendell's request.
• August 14: Bailey signed a no-bid contingency-fee contract with the state.
• September 15: Bailey contributed airplane travel valued at $6,900 to Mr. Rendell's campaign.
• October 23: the Governor's Office of General Counsel mailed the contingency fee contract to Bailey.
• October 30: Bailey contributed another $25,000 to Rendell's campaign.

As is customary when awarding no-bid contracts, Rendell's office claims that the Texas law firm has "experience" in such matters. The pharmaceutical company has challenged the legality of Rendell's arrangement with Bailey, Perrin & Bailey. Apart from the smell test, the company contends that the Bailey contract violates the state Constitution. The matter is now before the PA Supreme Court.

Questions:

• Why did this have to be a no-bid contract?
• Why did Corbett's office decide not to handle this case? How many and which other cases have they allowed Rendell to pursue with outside counsel? Who got the contracts to handle those cases?
• How is a Texas law firm better able than the attorney general to argue the interpretation of PA's Constitution?
• In a state that is home to pharmaceutical companies, how likely is it that the experience of a Texas law firm is better than the experience of PA law firms that might have bid on the work?

A Timely Proposal
The WSJ story arrived just two days after House Republican Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, announced that his caucus will propose a package of bills to improve various aspects of public integrity, including pay-to-play. Click here for the list of 12 proposals.

One of five parts in the pay-to-play proposal says, "No government contract can be awarded to a person, partnership or corporation that donated to the campaign of the state official responsible for awarding the contract within one year of the date a contract is posted for public bidding."

Question:

• If the campaign contribution is intended to influence an election that won't occur again for a specific term of years, why not ban contracts with agencies for the full term of the officials who benefit from the contribution? (E.g. two years for contributors to representatives; four years for contributors to senators and the governor; and ten years for contributors to judicial campaigns.)

Philadelphia First?
Now here's some news that those who love to hate Philadelphia won't like: Philadelphia has taken the lead on ending pay-to-play in PA.

Three years ago, Philadelphia banned large campaign contributors from getting large city contracts. Businesses that contribute more than $10,000 to a city candidate may not get no-bid contracts worth more than $25,000. Individuals who donate more than $2,500 may not get no-bid contracts worth more than $10,000. It's still a pretty good investment, but not nearly as good as it used to be.

Click here for access to the Philadelphia Code provision. Look for Section 17-1404.

Question:

• Will enough rural legislators be embarrassed by Philadelphia's leadership to ensure passage of a better law for PA?

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Bailout Mascot

By hco12345

Obama: We're Not A Christian Nation - Video

Hey, Did you see where this Obama fella said He doesn't consider that we are a Christian Nation.
Wasn't that how the Communists brainwashed their people to accept the "State" as god?

In a speech in Ankara, Turkey, President  furthers his goal of replacing fealty to God with fealty to the state by declaring:

"We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation...We consider ourselves a nation of citizens."

America - A Christian Nation!

Image by dam12756

America, rooted in Christianity and in Biblical Principles.

---Al

Reid, Pelosi and the Dying Priest

Reid, Pelosi and the dying priest The old priest lay dying in the hospital. For years he had faithfully served the people of the nation's capital. He motioned for his nurse to come near. "Yes, Father?" said the nurse. "I would really like to see Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi before I die", whispered the priest. "I'll see what I can do, Father" replied the nurse. The nurse sent the request to them and waited for a response. Soon the word arrived. Harry and Nancy would be delighted to visit the priest. As they went to the hospital, Harry commented to Nancy "I don't know why the old priest wants to see us, but it will certainly help our images." Nancy couldn't help but agree. When they arrived at the priest's room, the priest took Nancy's hand in his right hand and Harry's hand in his left. There was silence and a look of serenity on the old priest's face. Finally Nancy spoke. "Father, of all the people you could have chosen, why did you choose us to be with you as you near the end?" The old priest slowly replied, "I have always tried to pattern my life after my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." The old priest continued... "He died between two lying thieves. I would like to do the same." How things work Reader Submitted And now for a cartoon

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